Research shows older people are happier and less tired than younger people

Do you believe that as people get older, into their 60’s and above, that they get happier? What about feeling tired? Do you believe that people over 60 might actually feel less tired than people in their 20s?

These researchers looked at results of the American Time Use Survey, sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which included nearly 13,000 Americans. Each of those people were asked to fill out a diary of their activities from the previous day, and rate, on a scale from 0 to 6, how tired they felt during each of those activities.

Surprisingly, people older than 65 reported, on average, almost one point less tiredness than the 15 to 24 year age group. The research showed that starting around age 40, people started to report feeling less tired, and this tiredness continued to drop with increasing age.

Multiple other respected international studies have shown that people report feeling happier as they get older too. This conclusion goes against a common belief that older people are more depressed. We will discuss this research in more detail in a future post, but for now, we are interested in what our readers have observed in themselves and in the people they know.

So our new poll question (which you can answer in the right column of this page) is:

Do you believe studies that show that people above age 60 in general are happier and less tired than people in their 20s?

Tell us if you think:

1) Yes, I believe the research showing that people over age 60 are generally happier than people much younger.

2) No, I do not believe the research. I think older people are more tired and generally less happy.